LIBERIA NATIONAL CASSAVA SECTOR STRATEGY EU funded All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme Under the Championship of Ministry of Agriculture & Ministry of Commerce and Industry PLEASE NOTE: This document has not been formally edited and is intended simply to provide a brief overview of the Cassava Sector Strategy for Liberia. The document should be used only for information purposes and should not be circulated and/or generally distributed. The updated and complete draft version together with the implementation plan and work programme will be available after consultation with key implementing partners and submission to Cabinet.
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LIBERIA NATIONAL CASSAVA SECTOR STRATEGY
EU funded All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme
Under the Championship of
Ministry of Agriculture
&
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
PLEASE NOTE: This document has not been formally edited and is intended simply to provide a brief overview of the Cassava Sector Strategy for Liberia. The document should be used only for information purposes and should not be circulated and/or generally distributed. The updated and complete draft version together with the implementation plan and work programme will be available after consultation with key implementing partners and submission to Cabinet.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
2
The vision for Liberia’s cassava sector
A dynamic industry contributing significantly to Liberia’s
economic development, national peace and stability, as
well as the improvement of living standards of the
Liberian people.
Mission
To establish a viable cassava sector as a major
agricultural and economic driver in achieving objectives
of Liberia’s economic agenda and poverty reduction.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For the past 18 months, a number of actors have dedicated significant amount time, resources and
energy in analyzing the Liberia’s cassava sector and formulating relevant recommendations.
We would like to commend the dedication and hard work of more than 100 individuals representing
farmers, processors, buyers throughout the 15 counties of Liberia, support institutions and government
officials who have now given the cassava sector a visible face and can claim that for the first time they
have all met under the same roof to decide on its future.
Special thanks to all members of coordinating committee, the supporting team, ITC and IITA
specialists, government agencies and all collaborating institutions who have immensely contributed to
the development of this strategy.
This strategic plan for the Cassava industry has empowered the beneficiaries by including them in
three key areas: the evaluation of potential markets, the related analysis of performance gaps and the
design of response activities.
The Strategy is a private sector led initiative and has started articulating the private, public and
implementing partner actors along the value chain with the shared objective of better responding to the
market and development opportunities.
The strategy is in line with Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and has been championed by
the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Cassava is a crop that is particularly close to the hearts and culture and culture of the Liberian people.
It has the potential to contribute substantially to social and economic development both in the rural and
urban areas.
Finally, the strategy development and implementation committee wishes to reaffirm its engagement to
the sector stakeholders and Government Authorities: It will continue to work harder than ever into
implementation of the strategy to ensure successful impact and coordination of interventions.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this document is to summarize the cassava strategy for Liberia in order to provide basic
information to the lector about how cassava can significantly impact the revitalization of the Liberian
economy and the livelihood of its population through the implementation of a participatory multi-
stakeholder process.
1. Background
The EU funded All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme (AAACP) was initiated in 2008 jointly by
the EU and the ACP Secretariat. The main objective of the programme is to reduce poverty, while
improving and stabilizing revenues and living conditions of agricultural commodity producers in ACP
countries.
Liberia’s involvement in this programme, and the subsequent focus on the cassava sector, came as a
result of a joint initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and sector stakeholders in
collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), in Geneva, Switzerland.
The selection of Cassava is in line with the Poverty Reduction Strategy and is justified by the
importance from a food security point of view (second staple crop and first staple protein) and from an
industrial and value addition potential point of view.
The Cassava sector strategy process was started as part of Liberia’s National Export Strategy in
Monrovia in February 2009. Private sector stakeholders and Government Authorities agreed that the
process would be jointly championed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of commerce and
Industry.
In the development of the strategy, several participatory stakeholder workshops took place between
July 2009 and March 2010. More than 100 people representing private sector, farmers and support
institutions participated in this strategy.
Based on the experience of ITC in other countries, where similar projects have been developed, this
process emphasized on a participatory market-led approach and focused on domestic, regional and
international market opportunities. The process eventually led to the adoption of a strategy articulated
around six major objectives centered on the following themes: institution building and PPP
coordination, information gathering, R&D, capacity building, access to finance, and improving
production, processing and distribution.
2. Role and Objective of the Strategy
The Liberia National Cassava Sector strategy (NCSS) is an agreed long term plan of action by Liberian
cassava sector stakeholders and the Government of the Republic of Liberia, for the development of the
nation’s cassava sector. It identifies and articulates specific time bound actions and measures to be
taken to enable the sector to reach its full potential through a coordinated approach that involves all
sector stakeholders.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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Most importantly the strategy has enabled the creation of a public private platform through the
stakeholder led coordinating committee. The Cassava sector in Liberia now has a representative body
that will manage the implementation of the strategy and will articulate the sector stakeholders and
actors.
In particular, the role of the NCSS is to:
a) To ensure a coordinated, consistent, efficient and realistic development Liberia’s cassava
sector;
b) To engage the effective participation of all sector actors (cassava growers, processors and
distributors)
c) To identify the role and coordinate the point of entries of individuals and all private and
public institutions.
d) Provide a framework for effective coordination, monitoring, and review of sector
development activities, as well as programs of all stakeholders.
3. Impact and Beneficiaries
The cassava value chain strategy will impact one and a half million of Liberian people growing cassava
in 264009 household, distributed in 15 provinces. Three of these provinces hold 55% of households
embracing 43% of the total cassava growers.
The Implementation of the strategy will be oriented to impact initially those areas and provinces with
more feasible readiness and potential from a commercial, social and human point of view followed by
those where the strategy needs more investment to significantly reduce indicators of poverty.
The strategy coordinating committee will be mandated to evaluate proposals and decide on the order
and priority for implementation.
4. The Importance of Cassava in Liberia
Cassava is the second most consumed staple food crop in Liberia, but the first staple-protein
(consumption of roots and leaves) food consumed in the country. It is growing throughout the country,
although the cultivated area varies considerably by counties. The following facts relating specifically to
cassava show that it is:
a) produced by over 60 percent of farming households in Liberia
b) a main provider of calories in the diet of Liberians
c) an important contributor to the GDP (550 000 metric in 2007, for an estimated value of
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
6
US $ 39.633.000)
Furthermore, in the near future cassava will play a very important role in the Liberian economy by
making the transition from staple-protein food to a high value product and raw material for the
processing industry. This process will result in fresh cassava roots being processed into added value
products ,within a market-driven, commodity chain approach.
The promotion of Liberia’s cassava sector can lead to a significant boost in the following areas: agro-
food industry (cassava flour, chips, etc), non-food industry (glue, starch, etc.), poultry & livestock
industries (chicken feed, pig feed, etc) and even ethanol.
From a buyer and industrial user point of view, the intrinsic characteristics of cassava that make it
interesting as a commodity and as a major economic driver can be expressed as follows:
i. it has greater clarity and viscosity than other comparable starches
ii. it remains very stable in acidic food products and,
iii. it has excellent properties for use in animal feed, non-food products, such as pharmaceuticals
and others
iv. it can contribute significantly to the empowerment of women, who make up the majority of
small holder producers and carry out over 80 percent of trading activities in the rural areas.
Cassava is also important due to it being an income-generating crop that can guarantee food for poor
rural households. When implementing the strategy complementary actions will be implemented to
strengthen rural economies and boost cassava farmers’ incomes by converting a relatively low-cost
raw material into high value products through the linkage with industry.
The implementation of the strategy will play an important role in the empowerment of women as well as
in Liberia’s poverty reduction strategy.
5. The market opportunities for sub-sector growth
The participatory market analysis carried out during the strategy formulation process revealed the
many prospects for Liberia’s cassava industry, as illustrated below:
a) Fresh cassava : waxed, root peeled, dried, instant boiled and vacuum packed cassava. The
development driver priority would be to promote food security and food import substitution. The
destination markets include village markets, city markets, supermarkets, millers and processors.
b) Processed cassava : this segment includes basic processed products such as gari, fufu, baby
food, cassava bread, snacks, biscuits, etc. Targeting this segment will promote increased
employment, food import substitution and food security in both rural and urban areas. Markets
identified include village and city markets, but also regional and international markets (EU, USA
& Asia).
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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c) Animal feed: the second most important utilisation of cassava worldwide is animal feed. At
present about a quarter of the global production of cassava is utilized as feed ingredient for
pork, poultry, cattle and fish farming, directly or indirectly through its incorporation into
compound feeds. Within the EU, the largest markets for cassava in terms of feed are the
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Portugal.
d) High quality cassava flour (HQCF) : mixed flour for bakeries in Liberia and the sub-region is
another market opportunity for stakeholders of the sector and for an effective substitution of
imported wheat flour.
e) Bio fuel market: viewed from a middle and long term perspective, the bio fuel industry could
also be a viable market segment. In the Nigerian State of Ekiti, Chinese investors recently
constructed a US $ 23.4 million integrated cassava-based bio-fuel ethanol refinery. The
refinery, which is scheduled to be completed within 22 months, will produce 30 000 litres of
ethanol and create over 1000 jobs.
6. The Strategy and the Future for Cassava
Following successive consultations, expert input and relevant contributions from Government and
various levels of the cassava value chain, participants united within the sector’s multi-stakeholder
forum concurred on a strategy targeting the following 6 objectives:
Objective 1: Create strong Institutions and Coordinate PPP mechanisms for sector strategy,
framework development, policy formulation and alignment.
Objective 2: Conduct a detailed sector analysis to enable informed decisions on existing
empowerment opportunities and incentives.
Objective 3: Develop and strengthen access to inputs and R&D to insure adequate sustainable
production and processing along the value chain
Objective 4: Empower small holder farmer organizations and foster an entrepreneurship
mindset.
Objective 5: Improve access to finance along the value chain.
Objective 6: Improve access to technology for processing to achieve quality, consistency and
quantity.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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6.1. Expected Results
The strategy targets a set of key results in accordance with the six selected objectives
Result 1: Stronger institutions and policies capable of driving the strategy and creating a cohesive
enabling environment for producers, processors and distributors.
Result 2: Producers, processors and distributors have a better understanding of existing market
flows.
Result 3: Inputs are easily accessed and improved varieties are adopted for maximum output.
Result 4: Farmers, processors and distributors have improved knowledge and skills to develop
sustainable business activities
Result 5: Actors along the value chain have access to funding
Result 6: Producers and processors have access to improved technology to ensure quality,
quantity and consistency
Key Activities
In order to achieve the objectives identified, the following key activities will be implemented:
Advocacy and Institution Building: these activities will involve lobbying for the adoption or review of
strategic policies and legislation, as well as budget allocation. Activities will include the strengthening of
the National Cassava Sector Coordinating Committee and the creation of other vital institutions such as
producers association, processors association, etc.
Market Information Gathering and Dissemination: this component will include the undertaking of
market surveys and the dissemination of relevant information to all stakeholders.
Research and Development: this section includes the establishment of participatory programs and
projects to support the production and processing demands of the strategy.
Capacity Building: filling knowledge gaps through training, coaching and mentoring as demanded by
the strategy to get a successful performance from producers and processors in meeting market
requirements.
Improving Production, Processing and Marketing: this will involve providing technical support to
farmers, processors and distributors.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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Resource Mobilization
A successful implementation of the Strategy will require substantial financial, human and material
resources. Hence, the support from the Government, co-funding international institutions and other
stakeholders will be needed.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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6.2. Implementation Framework
The implementation of activities to reach objectives will be led by the National Cassava Sector
Coordinating Committee, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce and
Industries. Other key support institutions in the implementation of this strategy include: the Ministry of
Internal Affaires, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affaires, the Ministry of Gender, the Central
Agricultural Research Institute (CARI). Key stakeholders in the implementation process will be farmer
based organizations and the private sector.
The committee will streamline all cassava related initiatives and take into account other related
initiatives (past and present) to enable synergy and avoid duplication. A high knowledge ability
technical and consultative team from support institutions, ITC, IITA, CARI and other national or
international organization will be requested to backstop the National Cassava Sector Coordinating
Committee in the implementation phase.
The implementation will be driven by objective 6 through market oriented regional bulk purchase
centers. The centres localization will be based on a participatory decision-making process using GIS
tools to analyse and integrate land capability to produce cassava, cassava growing areas, weather
socio-economic variables at the scale analysis of 1:100.000. Complementary, competitiveness
variables such as infrastructure, processing capacity and distance to the growing areas, farmers’
organisation and targeted markets will facilitate the final decision on location of the centers. Once the
centers are located, the strategy implementation plan will be validated by the articulated value chain at
each center. As a result, according with the center characteristics and the targeted markets, specific
demands will be redefined within the initial implementation plan.
It is very important to clarify that a regional bulk purchase center is not a venue, is not an institution or
any other bureaucratic entity; it may be a farmer organisation facilities or even virtual. Center means
that value chain stakeholders are articulated to meet regularly, for planning, implementing and
evaluating activities around the six objectives of the strategy to reach goal of the center. Articulation by
center must be supported by the government as regulator of the process, research and development
institutions giving proper responses to specific demands, but not leading the implementation.
Articulation of the value chain by center will produce an annual business plan composed of production
areas, production goals, technical assistance demands and supply strategy, quantities to be produce,
processed and delivered to specific buyer-markets.
Finally, the cassava coordinating committee will follow up each regional bulk purchase centers and will
negotiate and procure funds to implement the specific demands by center. Who is going to implement
and how the implementation should be done is a decision which should be made by the committee
based on technical support taking care to preserve the vision, approach and conceptual framework of
the strategy. Those support institutions participating by regional bulk purchase centers must be in
constant requirement according with its mandate. Feed back to the leaders of the support institutions
will be addressed by the committee, preserving the right as a private sector driver, to select the proper
one based on quality, opportunity, efficiency, knowledge ability and return to the investment among
others.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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6.3 Members of the National Cassava Sector Coordinating Committee
Name Organisation
Josephine Francis (Chairperson) Arjay Farms, Inc.
Una Kumba Thompson (Vice
Chairperson)
Wopnet
Michael Titoe Ministry of Agriculture
Charles McClain Ministry of Agriculture
Eric Nimely Liberia Farms, Inc.
Solomon Gofleetoe Union Rural
Vanii Baker National Investment Commission
Momo M. Sandemanie Ministry of Commerce
Franklin A. Henries Agrogem
Dr. Sizi Subah Ministry of Agriculture
End of executive summary
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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ANNEX to Executive summary
STRATEGY OBJECTIVES and Detailed Activities
To realize this vision and respond to the needs of markets identified, the strategy has outlined
specific objectives with sub-objectives and concrete actions for the cassava sector. For each
component, sub-objectives have been prioritized and implementation partners identified.
This section will provide a brief overview of each of the 6 objectives in the strategy by describing
each of the sub-objectives and detailed activities in them.
i. OBJECTIVE I
Create Strong Institutions and Coordinate Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
mechanisms for Strategy Framework Development, Policy Formulation and Alignment
Strong institutions are a major factor of success in every initiative. In this light, existing institutions
such as the National Cassava Sector Coordinating Committee (NCSCC) need to be commissioned
and strengthened; and other vital institutions such a National Cassava Growers Association
(NCGA) and National Association of Cassava Processors (NACP) need to be created and given
adequate support. This objective also aims at ensuring PPP coordination between farmers and
other private sector stakeholders, the ministries of agriculture, commerce, planning, internal affairs,
gender and public works; as well as UN agencies, local and international NGOs.
To achieve this, activities are mainly sub-divided into three categories and summarized as follows:
strengthening and building institutions, identifying and organizing stakeholders, and assisting in
policy formulation and alignment to sector needs.
Sub Objectives of the implementation plan Expected results from development
activities
Strengthen the Coordinating Committee for
Strategy Implementation, Monitoring and
Coordination
A committee that is recognized, strengthened
and that has the necessary support to
coordinate the strategy
Identify and organize stakeholders along the
value chain
All relevant stakeholders are identified and
mobilized for maximum input
Formulate and Align Policymaking to sector
needs
The strategy is used as a basis in ensure
coherence between policy design, social and
economic development and market aspirations
of private sector at least between 2010- 2015.
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
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Activities under Objective 1 listed below
Str
en
gth
en
th
e C
oo
rdin
ati
ng
Co
mm
itte
e f
or
Str
ate
gy Im
ple
me
nta
tio
n, M
on
ito
rin
g a
nd
Co
ord
inati
on
1.1 Review and validate the coordinating committee’s ToR to conform it
as an advisory entity to government’s and state’s policies about
cassava and value chain development
1.2 Review and confirm composition of membership of the CSCC to
ensure effective participation of all stakeholders in the decision-
making process of the implementation of the cassava sector
strategy.
1.3 To involve the Ministers of Agriculture, Commerce, Planning &
Internal Affaires in the cassava sector strategy development
process
Each of these ministries should nominate a focal person to the
committee.
Ensure that the coordinating committee is commissioned and
supported as the monitoring and implementation body of the
strategy
1.4 Establish a permanent secretariat for the Coordinating Committee.
Iden
tify
an
d o
rga
niz
e s
take
ho
lde
rs
alo
ng
th
e v
alu
e c
hain
1.5 Create a cassava sector association aligned to the strategy and the
CC, responsible to provide input to sector policy design and action
plans (communicating with donors, NGOs, and government)
1.6 Create an association or network of processors aligned to the
strategy to ensure the dissemination of relevant sector
1.7 Validate ownership of strategy and objectives at the growers,
processors, traders, transport, exporters, (smallholder and
commercial level) stakeholders.
Plan for periodical update of strategy implementation progress to
stakeholders, government, implementing agencies and donors
using direct briefing and media.
Fo
rmu
late
an
d A
lig
n
Po
lic
ym
akin
g t
o
sec
tor
nee
ds
1.8 Organize thematic working groups to formulate and propose
relevant policies for various levels of the value chain
1.9 Establish work plan for a participatory (to stakeholders,
government, implementing agencies and donors), monitoring and
impact evaluation system of the strategy implementation progress,
using meetings, workshops, direct briefing and media
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
14
1.10 Develop specific cassava sector development strategy as part of
the National Poverty Reduction Strategy
1.11 To develop a specific phytosanitary regulation for the production,
interchange, prices and use of cassava planting material
1.12 Develop a common framework for Cassava sector development
through the strategy that will guide an direct Donors, NGOs and
government
1.13 After the analysis of current legislations, policies, regulations, and
any strategies that impinge upon Cassava Sector strategy and
determine areas of conflict and potential synergies, to investigate
alternative formulations (if need be) to contribute positively to the
success of the sector
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
15
OBJECTIVE II
Conduct a Detailed Sector Analysis to Enable Informed Decisions on Existing
Empowerment Opportunities and Incentives.
The gathering and dissemination of accurate and detailed information on the sector’s opportunities
and incentives stand as a major factor of success of the strategy. A consistent improvement in the
information flow and knowledge management will support the decision making process of value
chain stakeholders. This objective was broken down into the following sub-objectives: identify
buyers and organize markets, improve access to information and dissemination techniques, and
developing a cassava promotion strategy.
Sub Objectives of the implementation plan Anticipated results from development
activities
Identify buyers and organize markets Market opportunities are clearly identified and
used a basis for production, processing and
distribution
Improve access to information and
dissemination techniques
Producers are well informed about production
techniques, market fluctuations, and policy
mechanisms
Develop a Cassava promotion strategy Cassava is recognized as major driver of the
agricultural sector.
Activities under Objective 2 listed below
Imp
rov
ed
vari
eti
es a
nd
cro
p
ma
nag
em
en
t p
ac
ka
ge
s
2.1 Define suitable agro-environments for breeding and integrated
crop management programmes
Specific counties to be targeted include: Cape Mount, Grand
Bassa, Bong, Nimba & River Gee (these counties are considered
highly suitable for multiplication and distribution of cassava
cuttings for maximum production.
2.2 Document and incorporate stakeholders' indigenous knowledge
on agro-environments and decision-making models in the design
and implementation of the integrated crop management and
participatory plant breeding programmes
National Cassava Sector Strategy Republic of Liberia
16
1.3 Design and implement a participatory plant breeding and varietal
selection sub-program to release varieties in less than five years
with traits requested by the value chain (Grand Cape Mount
County, for the western region; Bong County, for the central
region; Nimba County, for the central region; Grand Bassa
County, for the central region; and River Gee, for the eastern
region.
1.4 Design and implement a participatory integrated cassava crop
management (ICM) sub-programme to develop agronomic
packages - Exchange of
improved stock/ cuttings and short varieties
- Establishment of processing and storage sites in the districts or
production region
- Improve methods of production
- Improve markets for products
Imp
rov
e P
rod
ucti
on
, C
ert
ific
ati
on
, O
n F
arm
Pro
pag
ati
on
an
d D
istr
ibu
tio
n o
f C
lean
Pla
nti
ng
Ma
teri
als
1.5 To establish a three level participatory planting material
production system, to provide healthy cuttings of selected
varieties from the participatory varietal selection program (table